Localvore: Carrot Ginger Bisque

Jun. 11, 2011

arrot-ginger bisque offers an 'upscale' dish that draws on root-cellar basics to provide a rich, satisfying starter for cool-weather potlucks and family gatherings in this recipe from Dawn Morin-Boucher of Boucher Family Farm in Highgate. For the June 12, 2011, issue of Green Mountain. / DAWN MORIN-BOUCHER for the Free Press

Written by

Dawn Morin-Boucher

When I was growing up on Main Street in Bakersfield, my family kept a large garden and stored vegetables and home-canned goods in a root cellar — basically a pitch-black, cool, earth basement located under the house.

There always was some item that had to be fetched from "down cellar" while the evening meal was being prepared.

As the eldest sibling — presumably, the one least likely to fall — I was asked to descend the sketchy, freestanding, open-rung staircase into the dark.

I would stand blind, waving my arms around to find the string to turn the light on — which, more often than not, was mistaken for a cobweb and batted aside.

At the bottom, the floor was covered with elevated boards that flexed underfoot, and water constantly trickled down one corner of the fieldstone foundation.

Yellow onions encased in pantyhose dangled from joists just within reach; potatoes and carrots were stored in bins to the left; jars of preserves, jams and pickles were tucked into chicken-wire cages draped in dusty spider webbing to the right.

Roots or Mason jar in hand, there was never any lingering because of an instinctual certainty that some dark and malevolent thing lived in the blackness — and since the staircase bounced freely, every possibility of tripping (or being tripped) while beating a hasty retreat back to the light.

Here's an upscale soup recipe from one of my favorite celebrity chefs, using cellar staples of carrots and onions.

If you try it, you'll discover a rich, satisfying starter for cool-weather potlucks and family gatherings.

Farmer/cheesemaker/writer/blogger Dawn Morin-Boucher resides at the Boucher Family Farm in Highgate Center. Read about her life on the farm and search for more recipes at boucherfamilyfarm.blogspot.com.

Carrot Ginger Bisque

Adapted from a recipe by Emeril Lagasse

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoons sunflower oil

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1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced celery

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/2 pound carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 small hand ginger, halved lengthwise to maximize surface area

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sour cream

Optional: Chives for garnish

Additional Equipment: Food Blender

DIRECTIONS

1. In a 4-quart pot over medium heat, saute onion and celery in butter and oil until soft. Add carrots, ginger and garlic. Stir, and cook until the carrots begin to soften and caramelize — about 8 more minutes. Add stock, salt, pepper, and bay leaf; cover pot and reduce heat to low. Cook 30-40 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove bay leaf and discard.

2. Remove the ginger and chop finely in a food processor. Strain the liquid back into the pot, pressing the juice out. Discard the solids. Place the vegetable solids into a blender and add just enough cooking liquid to process until smooth — it will look like baby food.

3. Place processed soup back into the pot and gently reheat. Add the heavy cream and sour cream and adjust the seasoning to your liking.